I am new to this site. I am allergic to fish, shellfish and curry powder. I have been getting more sever reactions lately (4 since the end of October). I am careful of what I eat and check labels but I find it difficult as spices are not always listed.

I had two reactions in a 24 hour period at the end of December and spending New Years Eve in the ER was not my idea of fun. I am afraid to eat anything now. I am going back to my allergist this week for more testing to see if I am developing more allergies. I am pretty sure that I am also allergic to turmeric. If anyone else has a spice allergy I would be interested to hear how you manage it.

You are definitely not in a fun situation. I can only imagine how scary it must be - and I know that spices are very challenging with the existing labelling situation.

I know there are other adults with allergies here, and others who have recently joined who have just started having reactions (or more severe reactions) like yourself, so I think you will definitely feel less alone as you start to explore the various forums.

I can't offer you much more insight into dealing with spices, since we're not dealing with that, although I guess calling all the companies has become second-nature to you by now. I know that some companies are better than others at providing info...

Hopefully others will have some more concrete advice for you. I can offer compassion, though - you have my sympathy!

Hi Jo and welcome. I've been wondering myself whether I've been having trouble with spices, but I react to a lot of things so it is sometimes hard to pinpoint exactly what it might be. I eye both cumin and turmeric with suspicion . . . cumin more so than turmeric. I haven't had any severe reactions, though---mainly GI upset.

I believe that curry powder is a mixture of spices---so you may have to look out for any of them in the mix. Since you react to turmeric, maybe that's the culprit.

Good luck with figuring everything out. I do know that people here with shellfish allergies have difficulties with cross contamination at restaurants---do you think this could have happened on New Year's Eve? sorry to hear about your reaction.

I feel pretty new to the allergy thing, or maybe I should say to the severity. I was diagnosed with a shellfish allergy about three years ago, while the fish and curry were found about a year ago. When I passed the first fish skin test, my allergist ordered an oral challenge, but I reacted to the skin test on that day, so he instructed me to avoid new fish, yet told me I could still eat fish that I new was safe such as tuna and salmon. When I had me first anaphylactic reaction requiring an epi-pen in October I was told to avoid anything that swims. When I asked about cross containmination I was told if I asked than I should know to avoid.

The reactions at the end of December still have me puzzled a bit. On December 30th I went to a restaurant for lunch, talked with the server and explained my allergies. I was informed that there stone baked pizza was the safest, as it was cooked in the front with no fish or shellfish. I ordered a BBQ chicken pizza, with a whole wheat crust, pesto sauce, onions, and peppers. I felt fine eating the pizza and did not notice any symptoms until close to dinner time, although my mom recalls seeing hives shortly after lunch but not telling me as she did not want to bring something that was not there to my attention. By 8pm I was having a full blown reaction. The doctor at the ER gave me prednisone and told me to take benadryl every 6 hours for the next 2 days. On Dec 31 I had chicken with BBQ sauce ( later I found out it has Worcester sauce with anchovies in it) for dinner. This time I reacted quite quickly, despite the medication in me. The doctor at the hospital was unclear if this was a separate reaction or a secondary reaction to the food I eat the day before.

The last reaction was to the turmeric. It was in rice and I read the ingredients over quickly at the store, didn't see curry powder and thought it was fine. Thankfully I tock only one fork full and didn't like it so the reaction was not full blown, but I really learned a lesson that I need to educate myself more on label reading.

I also have problems with Turmeric. It is also read as Tumeric with no "r" on some labels so watch out, it's the same spice! It's often used to give mustards the yellow tint as well as adding a spice to common steack sauces. Specialty mustards such as dijon or spicy often don't contain it.

It's apparently being tested as an ingredient in a few drugsfor cancer, aslzheimer's and even STD's. Not to worry, you won't have to check for it on a Tylenol bottle anytime soon!

I've also had problems with Tamarind lately which can be found in Worchestershire sauce as well as HP. I've found that I get a very similar reaction with lip swelling from both spices.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum